The Grand Canyon: How Old is It?

The Grand Canyon seems to be fixed in time, but it is hardly permanent, and lately, neither are geologists' estimates for its age, sparking what one scientist calls "the Grand Canyon Wars."

While a recent study in the journal Science suggested that the Grand Canyon was about 16 million to 17 million years old (much older than previously thought), a new study, detailed in the journal Geology, argues that geological evidence still supports the long-standing age of 6 million years. - livesci

The new study also proposes that the carving of the canyon's iconic burnt-orange walls by the Colorado River was triggered by tectonic uplift.